Thousands of drivers unfairly fined for parking in Coventry city centre could now appeal against the bill after a tribunal ruled a parking zone was "unenforceable".

The Traffic Penalty Tribunal had been reviewing Coventry City Council's Restricted Parking Zone Scheme (RPZ) to make sure it is fair after complaints it was confusing and there weren't enough signs.

Today Chief Adjudicator Caroline Sheppard OBE ruled the RPZ was "unenforceable" and that signs were "confusing" after upholding six appeals made to the tribunal.

The decision could pave the way for some of those who were handed one of the 58,536 fines within the RPZ in the city centre between October 2012 and August 2017 to appeal the charge.

Parking penalties in Coventry are £70 for serious offences or £50 for less serious offences.

In all cases the council must accept 50 per cent if they receive the payment within 14 days – £35 or £25 as appropriate.

The Traffic Penalty Tribunal is responsible for considering appeals against parking Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) issued by councils in England (outside London) if you think it has been wrongly issued.

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Appeal process

The Traffic Penalty Tribunal website says: "To challenge this kind of PCN you should contact the council as soon as possible – read the notice for details.

"Quote the PCN number and say why you believe you should not have to pay. This is called an informal challenge.

"The council will decide whether or not to cancel the PCN. If they cancel it, you have nothing to pay. If they don’t cancel it, you can either pay the penalty or wait for the issue of the Notice to Owner (see below).

"If you challenge within 14 days and the council rejects it, they will usually reset the 50% rate for a further 14 days. You can check with them whether they will do this.

"If the PCN was sent through the post, you should follow the instructions below to make representations. No Notice to Owner is issued in these circumstances. A PCN sent through the post should be sent within 28 days of the date of the alleged contravention.

"If you want to challenge a PCN, do not pay it. If you do, the council will close the case and that will be the end of it."

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What if the council don't cancel it?

The Traffic Penalty Tribunal Website issues the following advice.

"If the council decides not to cancel the PCN and you don’t pay, they will send an NtO [Notice to Owner] to the person who the DVLA has as the registered keeper of the vehicle, this is presumed to be the vehicle’s owner.

"At this point the penalty will usually be the full amount, £50 or £70.

"The council will also send an NtO if they don’t have payment or any contact within 28 days of issuing the PCN.

"They can issue an NtO between 28 days and 6 months (longer in limited circumstances) after issuing the original PCN.

"The NtO (or PCN issued by post) includes a form or an online link that enables you to make ‘formal representations’ to the council about the PCN.

"You should explain why you don’t think you should pay and send copies of all your evidence – even if you have already done so.

"The NtO will explain the grounds for appealing. You have 28 days from when the NtO or postal PCN was delivered* to appeal against it to the council."

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When can the adjudicator cancel the fine?

The adjudicator can only instruct the council to cancel the fine in the following circumstances:

The penalty exceeded the amount that applied in the circumstances

The contravention did not occur

The relevant traffic regulation order is invalid

There has been a procedural impropriety by the council

A penalty was sent by post because the council say someone prevented the civil enforcement officer from putting it on the vehicle or handing it to the driver. But in fact the CEO was not prevented from doing this

You did not own the vehicle when the alleged contravention happened

The owner is a vehicle hire firm

The vehicle was taken without the owner's consent

The penalty has already been paid

If the adjudicator agrees that you have compelling reasons why the penalty should not be paid, they may make a recommendation to the council that they cancel the penalty. If the council choose not to do this they must explain why. The adjudicator cannot cancel a penalty based on compelling reasons.